Aryna Sabalenka grew tired of losing to Iga Swiatek, according to former WTA player Alize Lim, and she began visualizing playing against her in practice to get into the mindset of beating her.
In more recent times, Sabalenka has managed to find some solutions against her Polish rival. She bested her in their most recent match at the Cincinnati Open, but overall, it's still a very challenging matchup for the Belarusian.
Earlier this year, Swiatek defeated her in both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open finals, claiming those WTA 1000 titles. Losing repeatedly can become quite frustrating, especially for a fierce competitor like Sabalenka.
She has tried her best to turn the rivalry around, and while she's had more success in recent years, it remains a tough challenge—largely a testament to how great Swiatek is as a player.
Beating her is not an easy feat, even though Sabalenka seems to have found an edge on faster courts. It will always be a mammoth challenge on clay for her because Swiatek might be the best clay-court player in the history of women's tennis.
Still, what Sabalenka has been able to do against her recently is impressive, far more than most other players have managed. It wasn’t an easy road to get there either, as she worked really hard to reach this level.
Former player Alize Lim recalled some things Sabalenka told her about facing Swiatek two years ago. Lim, who was a guest on the Tennis Channel's Inside In podcast, shared insights into Sabalenka’s mindset and determination.
"I remember Aryna Sabalenka telling me in an interview, was it two years ago, that she would think of Iga during practice, during fitness sessions because she was so sick of losing against her on clay and I love that."
"Maybe it’s the same on the other side. I love that they’re pushing each other and now we have this huge rivalry in women’s tennis."
Changing the approach to practices might seem drastic, but there is some science behind it. Visualizing a goal has been proven to help achieve said goal, and many athletes have used this method for various purposes.
The rivalry between Swiatek and Sabalenka certainly looks like the one that will push tennis forward in the coming years. Both are incredibly talented players, both are tremendous competitors, and both are dedicated workers looking to maximize their potential to the fullest.
That’s what's going to drive other players to improve as well. Lim, in particular, has been impressed with how Sabalenka has evolved recently, especially on clay, becoming a strong player on that surface.
"Also the rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka makes it even more interesting now but she’s been incredible the past few years, especially on clay. It’s good that she still has margin to progress on other surfaces but she’s been extremely dominant."
This year, they will fight it out for the number one rank on the WTA Tour, which should be very interesting for all tennis fans.
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